


Right Hand Man

by GemmaRose



Series: Altean Lanse AU [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Blood and Injury, Bonding, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s02e01 Across The Universe, Established Relationship, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hugs, Illustrated, M/M, Minor Matt Holt/Shiro, Near Death Experiences, Oaths & Vows, Promises, Reunion kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 18:58:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15371187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Keith has lost everything once already. Separated now from his boyfriend and all but one of the group of aliens who are starting to feel like clade, he’s not going to let it happen again.With art byOwletteon tumblr.





	Right Hand Man

“Coran, what’s happening?” Shiro snapped, the castle shaking around them.

“The integrity of the wormhole has been compromised. It's breaking down!”

“What does that mean?” Hunk asked nervously, and it was weird not to see a flicker of yellow in his peripheral vision to accompany the words.

“It means we’ve lost control of our destination!” Lanse replied, sounding more scared than Keith had ever heard him. He opened his mouth to say something reassuring, but instead ended up yelping as another, stronger tremor disconnected Red from the floor of the hangar. Keith clung to the controls, squeezing his eyes shut. “Keith!”

Red’s cockpit jolted around him, slamming one arm of the pilot’s seat into his side just under his ribs, and Keith opened his eyes when light hit them. Red was back online! Back online and careening down towards what looked like a very, _very_ hard landing. “Come on, come on, come on!” he pulled at Red’s controls, but she didn’t respond, and as the ground grew closer he braced himself for impact.

\---

“Lanse!” Keith bolted upright, getting halfway to his feet before the ache of bruised ribs knocked the wind out of him. “Red, how are-” he sank back into the pilot’s seat with a groan, pressing a hand to his chest. Breastplate or no, he was gonna have a couple of tender spots where the controls jabbed him. “How are you holding up?”

A low, popping sort of sound echoed in the back of his head, and he jiggled one of the control sticks for confirmation. Yeah, no, she wasn’t flying any time soon. “Okay, we’ll fix you up. We had a tough battle.” he patted the dashboard, swallowing hard against the terror that threatened to choke him. Lanse was a Paladin, he was with his Lion, he’d trained his whole life in combat and flying for the express purpose of being who he was now. Red crackled again in the back of his mind, the cockpit lurching slightly as she got to her feet. She was worried too.

“We need comms back online first.” he said firmly, getting to his feet. He had to re-establish connections with the castle, wherever it had come out. From there it’d be easy to find Blue, and with her, Lanse. “Comms and intra-Voltron trackers. Where do I find those?”

Red chuckled, like candle flames licking at his face, and sent a sense of... assurance? He frowned, making a soft questioning sound, and Red nudged him towards an exit ladder which would let him out the top of her head. He followed her nudges up into the open air, and grimaced at the feel of it on his face, hot and humid. It stank, too, but not bad enough to justify setting his helmet to zero-atmosphere mode. If Red took a long time to self-repair, he wanted his armour functional for as much of that time as possible. “Where are we?” he asked her, looking around at the barren, desolate landscape they’d crashed in. “Where have we landed?”

Red shrugged, the sensation like flames crawling out across his shoulders and flickering away to nothing, then sent him an impression of distance and darkness. They were, far from the castle? The castle was somewhere dark? He felt a phantom huff of warm air on the back of his neck, and received the impression again, but more refined. Something small and dark and distant, its presence faint and flickering and purple.

“Shiro.” Keith gasped, swivelling his head to look in the direction where Red had sensed Black. “Shiro!” he broke into a run, scrambling down Red’s back until he could launch himself from her flank and use his jetpack to soften the landing. He wasn’t stranded here by himself, wasn’t alone again. A marker popped up on his HUD, spinning gently, marking the distance to the Black Lion and, hopefully, a member of his clade.

An alert pinged up that his comms were functional again, and he immediately opened them to the Paladin frequency. “Shiro, can you hear me?” he asked, pushing the upper limits of a sustainable pace and silently thanking his mixed heritage for giving him such insane endurance. “Shiro?” he paused, but only static and his own heavy breathing filled his ears. “Shiro, are you there? Answer me!”

The terror was rising again, horrible what-ifs flitting across his mind like half-formed shadows. He’d been bruised by his landing, what if Shiro had been hurt worse? What if he was unconscious, or-

“Shiro, it’s Keith.” he sped up slightly, despite protest from his bruised ribs.

A loud burst of static filled his ear, and then “‘m here. I’m okay.”

“Shiro.” he smiled, relief flooding through him. “You made it.”

“It takes more than a glowing alien wound, a fall from the upper atmosphere, and crashing into a hard pan surface, at what I'm guessing is about 25 meters per second squared, to get rid of me.” he chuckled, soft and dry and familiar even after so short a time as teammates. “How are you?”

“Been better.” he pressed a hand briefly to his ribs before setting to cross a small canyon on rocks that seemed to be floating, but didn’t wobble when he landed on them. “Red’s down, and that landing wasn’t too gentle.” part of Shiro’s little list struck him belatedly, and he frowned. “Wait, what wound?”

“It’s nothing.” Shiro insisted, and Keith frowned harder at the muffled sound of pain which followed.

“Hang on, I’m coming.” he pushed himself faster as he reached the other side of the canyon, which seemed to be a plateau of some sort. The feel of the ground under his feet shifted, and he very nearly backpedalled. He knew this place, he’d learnt about it before being assigned his mission on Sendak’s ship. It wasn’t as lifeless as it seemed. “Shiro, watch out for xznly squiwl.” he warned as the explosively pressurised water table began erupting in his footsteps. “They’re carnivorous and territorial.”

“What do they look like?” Shiro asked, and Keith’s heart sank as he realized he was approaching the edge of the plateau.

“Spikes, tusks, pointy teeth.”

“Four red eyes?”

Keith cursed under his breath, skidding to a stop as soon as the ground firmed up under his feet. He could hear Shiro on the other end of the line, his heavy breaths and grunts of exertion. There was the sound of crashing rock, and Keith’s heart leapt into his throat as he looked around frantically for a way across. “Shiro?”

“I’m alright.” he panted, his voice strained. “For now, at least. The ziggly-things got me cornered in a cave.”

“Xznly squiwl, and I wouldn’t count on a cave stopping them forever.” he bit back a curse at the lack of natural bridges, and eyeballed the distance to the far side. Maybe if he jumped and used his jetpack for a boost?

“So optimistic.”

“You won’t need forever, I’m on my way. I just...” he looked out over the canyon, heart sinking as he realized there was no way in hell his jetpack was strong enough to carry him to the other side in this gravity. “Just have to figure this out.” he gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. “C’mon, Keith, _think_.” he muttered, thunking his knuckles against his helmet. What did he have to work with? A jetpack that could only fire short bursts, his armour, his luxite blade, and his bayard. He turned around, pacing away from the edge, and hopped back as he felt the terrain shift under his feet.

A tick later the ground erupted in a high-pressure geyser, and he smiled as an idea came to mind. This pressurised water table didn’t just stop as it approached the edge of this plateau, the ground at the edge was just sturdy enough to hold his weight without giving the pressure an out. But if he _made_ an out, if he used his bayard to cut himself a launch pad, he could get far enough across for his jetpack to do the rest.

Probably. Hopefully. He didn’t have time to do the math, but Red wasn’t stopping him so at worst he’d hit the ground on the other side hard enough to tenderize his limbs to match his chest. He slashed twice in quick succession, cutting the ground beneath his feet into a wedge, and let his weapon dematerialize as the planet’s unique geographic quirk took effect. Water spurted out to either side of him, and he barely had time to brace before he was launched up and out over the canyon. He grinned, chuckling softly as his arc peaked almost halfway across the chasm, but the heady joy of flight vanished quickly as he started to descend, the ground under his feet disintegrating.

He whimpered softly, eyes flicking from the far edge of the canyon to jetpack trajectory calculations on his HUD, and a nudge from Red pre-empted the blink of “best chance” by just long enough for him to fire thrusters right as he hit the narrow window of success. He yelped as his jetpack cut out half a tick before he reached the edge, and grunted when he slammed into the sturdy stone, claws digging into the ground as his chest throbbed anew.

“Keith?! Keith!”

“Hang on.” he grunted, hauling himself up to safety with a brief burst from his jetpack to assist. “I’m on my way.” his ribs were definitely not having a good time, but the sting which accompanied every inhale just kept the adrenaline going.

“Good, because these guys just started digging.” Shiro said, letting out a little grunt of pain afterwards. He must’ve been hurt worse in the crash than he’d let on.

Keith’s HUD flashed that his jetpack was fully charged, and he kicked off the ground in a low arc to maximise his distance. There was another canyon of sorts up ahead, though it seemed far more shallow than the two he’d already crossed, and wasn’t blocking his way. He landed in a tumble, rising to his feet after the first full roll and throwing himself forward as his pack charged up again.

The marker on his HUD for Black’s location was... in that canyon? Huh, lucky him, he’d be able to literally get the drop on the xznly squiwl. He made another jump as soon as he had the charge to do so, and a smile flashed across his face. “Shiro, I have a visual on the Black Lion.” he reported, grunting as he landed in a tumble again. He was close enough now that his next jump would have to be the one which took him into the canyon, down to Shiro and Black.

Shiro cried out, and Keith pushed on faster, flames licking up his legs as Red urged him on. “Shiro, what happened?” he asked, but there was no reply. He reached up under his backplate, and drew his dagger. In the other hand, as he leapt down to the level of canyon above Shiro and the xznly squiwl, he materialised his bayard. The dagger grew to its full length at a thought, and he launched himself down the slope with his best battle cry.

Even xznly squiwl weren’t sturdy enough to keep going after taking two swords between the ribs, thank the stars, and as he pulled his blades free the remaining trio turned to face him. “You want a fight?” he snarled, raising his swords to point at them like their own tusks, thick blood dripping from the blades. “Come at me.”

The beasts roared, and cold sweat broke out across the back of his neck as he realized that he’d just invited three _xznly squiwl_ to attack him head on. “Get to Black!” he shouted at Shiro, taking off away from the Black Paladin. Xznly squiwl were territorial, but not stupid. If one of the Lions came roaring at them, they’d scatter. Red was still too hurt to fly, and too far off to run over here before he got cornered and ripped apart, which meant it had to be Black. He sprinted towards a large rock which stuck more or less straight up out of the ground, throwing himself sideways at the last tick so the larger, faster beast closest on his tail ran headlong into it. The impact wouldn’t keep it down for long, but if Shiro could get his Lion up and running that wouldn’t be a problem.

“Back’s not responding!” Shiro’s voice crackled over the comms, the static not quite obscuring his evident fear, and Keith swore.

“Keep trying!” he demanded. “I can’t outrun these things forever.” he stumbled over some loose terrain, and only a timely burst from his jetpack saved him from eating dirt. Red’s boost was wearing off, though, and adrenaline could only do so much. His mind abruptly flashed to Lanse, lost somewhere out amongst the stars, separated once again from everyone he knew and loved. He couldn’t die here. He _wouldn’t_ die here. He had to get back to the castle, back to Lanse, he wouldn’t put his future mate through the same agony he’d endured.

The thought gave him a fresh surge of energy, and he started curving his path back around towards the slope that lead up to Black. If Shiro couldn’t get his Lion up and running, which seemed to be the case from his repeated pleas, the both of them could at least get inside and hunker down until Black was operational. “Get in the cockpit.” he pushed himself faster, sharp pains shooting through his chest with each heaving breath. “I’m coming in hot.”

“No need.” Shiro laughed breathlessly, and Keith’s head snapped up. He whooped at the sight of the Black Lion rising to its feet, and yelped immediately after when one of his feet caught on a rock. His jetpack ignited a tick too late, this time, and he accelerated into the ground face first. He tried to scramble back to his feet, but the xznly squiwl were too fast. One of their feet came down hard on his leg, and he cried out as he felt something snap.

Another one got its tusks mostly under him, and with a toss of its head sent him tumbling across the hard, uneven ground. He groaned weakly, ribs vehemently protesting the mere _idea_ of movement, but struggled up into a sitting position anyways. His bayard had dissolved, but somehow he’d managed to keep a hold of his luxite scimitar, and now he held it defensively across his body. It was a weak defense, but enough to make the xznly squiwl pause for a tick. And that tick was all the time he needed. Black landed heavily over him, the great Lion letting out a roar that shook the very air itself. One of the xznly squiwl roared back and charged, but was effortlessly batted aside by a massive paw.

The other two booked it, and Keith willed his luxite blade to revert to dagger mode. It sheathed easily under his backplate as Black’s head lowered, and a dobosh later Shiro came limping off her jaw ramp. Keith heaved a sigh of relief, and materialised his bayard as a prop to push himself upright. At least one of the bones in his lower leg was definitely broken, but despite the glowing gashes on his side Shiro didn’t hesitate to duck under Keith’s arm, propping him up to keep weight off his busted leg.

“We should get out of here.” he said, leading Keith towards Black’s jaw. “Who knows when those things will come back.”

“Good plan.” Keith gritted his teeth against a groan, every injury on his body throbbing with pain as he limped along at Shiro’s side. Black’s ramp was a challenge, and the ladder was out of the question, but he had no problems sitting against the inner door of the airlock. As soon as Shiro vanished up to the second level, he let his eyes slide shut and stopped fighting the pained whine in his throat. He was alone, in an unfamiliar ship, without his pack or clade or mate, and everything _hurt_. He swallowed a wordless sound of distress, and forced himself to instead start up a purr. It had nothing on the rumble of the older Blades, and making the sound himself kept it from lulling him to a calmer state, but it was better than crying out in wordless distress like a panicked kit.

The floor under him vibrated slightly, and Keith’s breath was stolen away as warmth blew through him like a firestorm, but somehow gentle? He frowned, reaching for Red with his mind. She was still hurt, but... passing on a message? The floor vibrated again, this time accompanied immediately by the pulse of warmth, and Keith made a soft noise of understanding. The Black Lion’s element was air, and Shiro had described its voice once as sounding like wind. The firestorm flared in his chest again, this time full of pride and gratitude as Black rumbled under him.

“Anytime.” he chuckled weakly, patting the floor at his side. “I owe you one for saving my ass. Well, you and Shiro, I guess.” he got the vague sense of Red huffing irritatedly, like a puff of flame behind his back, but it wasn’t aimed at him. Black’s wall shook slightly under him, halting little buzzes that tickled his shoulders, and he shook his head with a chuckle of his own. “Thank you.”

The clang of approaching footsteps had him sitting up straighter, and a few ticks later the Black Paladin came slowly down his Lion’s ladder. “Red met us halfway.” he said with a ghost of a grin, crouching next to Keith so he could get an arm over Shiro’s shoulders. “Let’s get you in her cryo-pod.”

“What about you?” he asked, and Shiro looked down at his own wound with a grimace.

“I can walk, at least. I’ll get in my pod as soon as you’re in yours.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Shiro smiled, strained but reassuring anyways, and Black’s airlock opened for them. Ugh, and just when Black’s climate control had been getting down to a more tolerable temperature too. His disgust with the weather didn’t last long, however, because he didn’t even finish scanning the surroundings before his heart leapt in his chest. An involuntary trill left his throat, and only Shiro’s firm grip kept him from trying to lurch towards his Lion. Red was dusty and dirty, and he could see a few new dents and gashes in her armour from fighting Zarkon and then crashing into a planet at near-slipstream speeds, but she was standing strong.

She crouched to open her mouth to them as Shiro helped him over, but once they reached the emergency cryo-pod in the back of her lower level a problem presented itself. The pods on the castle had numerous settings, galra and altean and human and everything in between. This pod, however, only had one setting, the characters of the name familiar from watching Lanse work through old files. Alfor.

“Well, shit.” Shiro sighed. “Looks like we’re waiting for pickup.”

“Looks like.” Keith groaned, letting the Black Paladin lead him back out of Red to sit against a rock.

“We should get a fire going.” Shiro muttered, pressing a hand to his side over the glowing gashes. Really, the more Keith looked at those the worse they looked. He was pretty sure humans weren’t supposed to glow like that.

“We don’t have to.” he said quickly, reaching out to catch Shiro’s other wrist as he made to stand. “Our suits are temperature regulated, and when it starts getting dark we can just go back into our Lions.”

Shiro hesitated, then sighed as his shoulders slumped. “You’re right.” he admitted, gingerly lowering himself to sit against the rock a comfortable distance away. Keith couldn’t tear his gaze from the sickly purple glow leaking out between his leader’s fingers, though, and Shiro definitely noticed.

“What happened?” he asked, indicating the covered gashes.

“Y’know, I’m not entirely sure?” Shiro chuckled, dry and humourless. “Thinking back, I must’ve hit my head or something. I’m pretty sure I hallucinated at least a little, fighting her.”

“Her?” Keith tilted his head slightly. Humans, he’d figured out, were awful at discerning the genders of pure galra, and Zarkon didn’t keep anyone under three quarters on his command center staff unless they were exceptionally useful. If the Emperor had brought a mixed officer aboard, that could spell trouble in their near future.

“She sounded pretty feminine. Raspy, though, and there were these marks on her face.” Shiro lifted his free hand and touched his index finger and thumb to his face under his eyes, tracing a shape that had Keith’s blood running cold.

“Haggar.” he breathed.

“You know her?”

“Know of her.” he said quickly, trying to shake off the heavy, curdling fear that accompanied memories of his brief stint in druid hands. “She’s the High Priestess, leader of the druids and Zarkon’s most trusted advisor.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“In more ways than one.” Keith nodded. They lapsed back into silence, amd he worried at his lower lip with his teeth. Without any immediate threat to deal with, his mind kept wandering to the others. Specifically, to Lanse. Where had he landed, when the wormhole spat him and Blue out? Was he alone, or had one of the other humans been thrown with him? Was he hurt in the landing?

“Y’know, I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have as my second.” Shiro said, drawing Keith out of his thoughts. “You’re a terrific pilot, and fighter, and you know things about the Empire that the rest of us don’t.”

“Oh.” Keith looked away, a smile tugging at his lips. “Thank you.”

“I’m sure you don’t need to worry about Lanse.” Shiro reached out and patted him on the elbow. “He’s stronger than he looks, and his bond with Blue is unshakable.”

“I can’t help it.” Keith admitted, curling his working leg up to his chest. “If I lost him too...” he trailed off into silence, and the sound of pure distress which built in his throat was almost impossible to keep silent. Only almost, though, and he forced a broken imitation of a soothing purr out of his throat instead. “Humans have mates too, don’t they?” he asked rhetorically. They had words for potential mates, so obviously they had proper mates as well. “What would you do if your mate was lost and alone and you didn’t know if they’d be okay?”

Shiro looked away, his expression achingly sad. “I’d trust him.” he said softly, gaze locking on his prosthetic arm as he curled his fingers. “He’s smart, and resourceful, and stubborn as all hell.” a smile curled Shiro’s lips, but his eyes stayed sad. “Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s fighting.”

“Oh.” Keith looked away, fixing his eyes on a bit of dirt in front of the toe of his boot. Shiro had a mate as well, one lost to the stars, who’d _been_ lost since before they became Paladins. Keith hoped he wouldn’t be apart from Lanse for that long. “Maybe, once we all get back to the castle, Pidge can help you look for him?” he suggested. If he had to be separated from Lanse for that long, not being able to do anything would drive him mad faster than not knowing.

“They already are.”

Keith snuck a glance at his leader, and was relieved to see that awful sadness tempered with a fond affection. He made a mental note to himself to help Pidge in their search however and whenever he could. Nobody should have to live in uncertainty when it came to their mate’s well-being, least of all his leader who’d already been through so much.

“You said too.” Shiro said after another dobosh in something like companionable silence. “Did something happen to your first mate?”

Keith shook his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. “My clade.” he said, and his voice came out thick. He swallowed hard, and tried to force another comforting purr but it just wouldn’t go, sticking on the lump in his throat. Shiro made a sympathetic noise, and scooted closer until he could put an arm around Keith’s shoulders and pull him into an awkward half hug.

“I’m so sorry.” he said softly, tucking Keith’s head against his shoulder. “I can’t even imagine what that must’ve been like.”

Keith’s breath hitched, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed his face into the stiff fabric of Shiro’s pauldron. It still hurt, even now, when he remembered that he was alone. That his pack and clade were gone, and he’d never see any of them again. The Paladins were great, and Lanse was amazing, but they couldn’t fill the hole left by everyone he’d ever known and loved.

“I’m sure if they could see you now, they’d be proud.” Shiro said, stroking his hand over the back of Keith’s hair.

Keith managed a wet chuckle, and lifted his head to see Shiro smiling at him. “You’re just saying that.”

“You’re a Paladin of Voltron, and you saved my life by fighting those zinly-things.”

“Xznly squiwl.”

“I’m not even going to _try_ that word.” Shiro shook his head, chuckling for just a tick before his face contorted in a grimace and he hunched forward, hand pressing tighter against his side. “Ow.”

“Shit.” Keith sat up straighter, and gently pushed Shiro’s shoulders back until he was leaning against the rock again. “Is it getting worse?”

“Maybe?” Shiro kept his eyes shut, his face contorted in pain. “Hurt pretty bad to start with, and laughing was a bad idea.”

A burst of static in his ear made Keith wince, and from the way Shiro flinched he bet his leader heard the same thing. Before he could even open his mouth to ask what it was, though, the question answered itself.

“Keith? Shiro?”

“Pidge?” Shiro smiled, letting out another laugh, this one breathy and with an audible note of relief.

“Pidge!” Keith beamed, looking up and sure enough, there was the castle, hanging low in the sky and dropping lower every tick in a quick but controlled descent. “Is Lanse there?”

“Ah, negative, Number Four.” Coran answered. Apparently Pidge had called from the bridge, not from Green.

“We’ve yet to locate the Blue and Yellow Lions.” Allura supplied. “Shiro, are you hurt?”

“Yeah.” Shiro gritted his teeth, hand curling over his wound. “We’re both pretty banged up.”

“We’ll get you both in pods as soon as you’re onboard, don’t you worry.”

“Yeah, about that.” Shiro cut himself off with a soft groan, and Keith grabbed his shoulder to squeeze it gently.

“My leg’s broken, and whatever Haggar did to Shiro it’s bad enough I don’t want to make him walk me over to Red.”

“How did-”

“I’ll come grab you, then.” Pidge cut Allura off. “Red and Black will be able to get themselves up to the castle as soon as they’re repaired enough.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Shiro said, and Keith leaned back against the rock as much as he could while still keeping an eye on the castle.

\---

It took almost a whole quintant to pick up the Blue and Yellow Lions’ signals, coming from a planet in a system which Keith remembered had been deemed too great an effort to process for comparatively few resources. The swell of relief nearly knocked Keith off his feet, and it was only a nearly because he’d been able to grab onto Coran before his knees gave out. Both Lions were already waiting in orbit when they arrived, and he rushed from the bridge as they started heading for the castle.

The express elevator to the hangars was already on this floor, thank the Ancestors, and he all but slammed the close door button as soon as he was inside. He kept jabbing his finger at the operation panel, repeatedly selecting the hangar level, but it still felt like forever before the elevator doors opened onto the familiar hallway. Keith rushed forward, stumbling slightly in his haste to reach the Blue Lion’s hangar, and came damn close to collapsing when he burst into the circular room.

Blue was crouched, mouth open to let her Paladin out, and even from the edge of the room Keith could see the way Lanse’s face lit up at the sight of him. Lanse bolted forwards, yanking his helmet off as he ran, and Keith met him halfway in a crash that knocked them both off their feet. Lanse yelped as they went down in a tangle of limbs, but Keith just held him tighter, curling around him as if he could keep his boyfriend at his side forever.

“I missed you too.” Lanse laughed, hugging him and kissing at the scent gland just on the underside of his jaw. Keith buried his face in Lanse’s messy hair, and instantly regretted it, pulling back with a grimace.

“Why is your hair attacking me?” he complained, releasing one arm from around Lanse to scrub at his tingling face.

Lanse laughed again, bright and joyful, and wriggled his way into sitting up with Keith seated on his lap. “Long story.” he said, carding a hand through Keith’s hair. “Short version, there was a jellyfish on my head for a while.”

“And the long version?”

“You’ll hear with everyone else when we debrief.” Lanse’s smile softened, his hand moving down to cup Keith’s cheek. “Now, do you wanna go back to our room so I can wash my face, or-”

Keith leaned forwards and cut Lanse off before he could finish that question. The secondhand exposure wasn’t bad at all, now that he was expecting it. A slight tingle on his lips, on his nose, on his cheeks where they pressed against Lanse’s face. On his tongue, when he swiped it over Lanse’s lower lip, coaxing his mouth open to deepen the kiss. Lanse made a happy little sound, one that Keith felt more than heard, and pulled back to laugh softly. “I didn’t take you for the clingy type.” he teased, eyes shining.

“I didn’t-” Keith’s words caught in his throat, and he shifted to pull his forehead away from resting against Lanse’s and press it to his boyfriend’s shoulder instead. “I hate not knowing if you’re okay.” he admitted, tightening his arms around Lanse’s torso.

“I was with Hunk.” Lanse assured him. “And Blue, too. Neither of them would let anything happen to me.”

“I know, but still.” Keith whined, mentally cursing the collar on the Paladin cuirass that kept him from burying his face in Lanse’s neck. “I can’t lose you too.”

“You won’t.” Lanse murmured, tugging gently on Keith’s hair until he sat up and met his boyfriend’s level gaze. “Keith, I give you my word, as Paladin of the Blue Lion and son of King Alfor Ebaran-Ralmugar.” he intoned, his voice level and words heavy, posture straightening and face schooling into something grave and regal. “I will never abandon you, in life or in death, and should any try to take me from you I will give my utmost effort to ensure they **fail**.” he relaxed slightly, and the grave look on his face gave way to one of those soft smiles which never failed to melt Keith’s heart. “There, now it’s a promise.”

Keith chuckled, all the energy abruptly draining out of him, and slumped forwards to press his forehead against Lanse’s. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Lanse’s smile flashed wider, then he leaned in and pressed a quick, chaste, tingling kiss to Keith’s lips. “Now c’mon, I need to wash my hair, and you should probably wash your face.”

Keith nodded, and after some untangling of limbs they managed to both stand. Lanse took his hand, and Keith did his best to memorise the feel of his boyfriend’s fingers threaded between his own. Lanse’s promise sat heavy in his chest, and he silently resolved his own promise. He would do everything within his power to protect his future mate, in body mind and soul. And should he fail, should Lanse be taken from this life, he would personally obliterate whatever unfortunate being was responsible.


End file.
